It seems that these numbers are pretty good and there is some reason to be amped about their future.
Disney benefited from increased attendance at the parks and resorts unit, where sales gained 7 percent. Network revenue jumped 18 percent, boosted by ESPN in cable and hits such as "Desperate Housewives'' and "Grey's Anatomy'' at ABC. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, 55, last week completed the $8.06 billion purchase of Pixar to revive Disney's flagging animation studio.
"Ratings were up for ABC over the last couple of years and that's been reflected in these numbers,'' said media analyst Hal Vogel, who runs New York-based Vogel Capital. "Investors will be looking forward to the second half of the year'' with the release of Pixar's "Cars'' and the "Pirates of the Caribbean'' sequel.
I think both of these movies will do great at the box office and will sell fairly briskly on DVD. Plus ESPN will be getting Monday Night Football which might goose affiliate fees during the coming football season. This is the most exciting revenue driver I think:
The hit shows ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``Lost'' were the first that Iger began selling last year on Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod video player. Disney has sold 5 million ABC shows through Apple's iTunes service since October, and this month began airing free shows with ads at its ABC.com Web site.
That means that people are perfectly willing to shell out bucks for a show they can watch the next day commercial free on their Ipod. It also offers another revenue option from offering the show for free with commercial interruption. So they will get money from advertisers when the show airs on TV and then more money when a person downloads it. It sounds like a good deal to me.
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